25th Anniversary in Tuscany

Experience 19. Firenze Fine Art. Florence, 13th June.

A visit to Firenze (aka Florence) is not a bad way to celebrate our 25th Wedding anniversary. A walking tour of the highlights with a Canadian guide who was very knowledgable and passionate about art and all things Florentine. We strolled into the piazza which originally contained several small sculptures of clothed women.....until Michelangelos 'David' was placed here.....then it was on for young and old as the artists tried to outdo each other with their artistic masterpieces. Lots of naked sulptures and grotesque sculptures of differing styles. A very good copy of 'David' resides here as the original is in safer lodgings. We also visited the Ufizzi Gallery where we were treated to viewing works from Botticelli, Michelangelo and Da Vinci with great commentary from our guide. A great view of the Ponto Vecchio bridge over the river was the only time we were allowed to take photos within the gallery.

A fabulous pasta lunch in a cafe in the Santa Croce followed by a wander through the streets of Florence. Florence is full of leather shops and gold markets. Gold of all varieties white, yellow, rose and a new one for me black gold. Leather in every color of the rainbow made it very hard to only chose one handbag.

Experience 20. Anniversary Show. Montecatini, 13th June.

After dinner, Cheryle and I joined a number of our touring party on a visit to the local...I guess you might call it community centre, for a night of Italian culture. A performance of Verdi, Puccini and other highlights and hits from the local operatic scene (I suppose). For those who know me it will come as no surprise when I say I am not the biggest opera buff going. I recall my dad spinning Madam Butterfly on the family turntable to my utter bemusement as a younger person....such a sensible man otherwise.

Anyway, we turned up as a group, tired and full of food. It had been a long day in a warm and busy Florence. The performers numbers three, a tenor, a soprano and a lovely young lass playing accompaniment on the piano. The house full sign was up and there was a murmur of expectation amongst the punters. The pianist was first. In a long black gown she walked from the back of the hall to the front (there was no stage as such). After a solo piece to polite applause the tenor strode forth from the back of the hall and sang something, to further applause he strode to the back of the hall. The soprano then walked the hall from back to front, sang a number and strode back the way she had come...to generous applause. Next the tenor and the soprano strode forth...and returned. This procession proceeded for a number of iterations with a intermission around half time.

Are they short of chairs in Italy? It is not a failing I have noted to date. Were they so busy that they needed to take their daily exercise during the performance? Were they laughing at the efforts of the other and didn't want to be seen sitting at the front? It was all rather curious and probably the highlight of the evening for me.

For some of the others in our group, the highlight of the evening seemed to be to close their eyes and enjoy the listening experience, thankfully not too many of them are noisy snorers.